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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847838">lurking demons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/loverloverlover/pseuds/loverloverlover'>loverloverlover</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Battle of Hogwarts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:00:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847838</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/loverloverlover/pseuds/loverloverlover</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>after the final battle, ginny weasley walks the halls of hogwarts.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>lurking demons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>written for the iwsc writing school on ffn.net!</p><p>technique: creating tension</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bone-tired and more than a little weary, Ginny Weasley walked slowly through the ruined halls of Hogwarts. The fighting officially ended a little under two hours ago, but she was still gripping her wand so tightly in her fist that her knuckles were white. The remaining Order members had decided that before they retired for the night and slept off the horrors of the Battle, they’d split up and do one last sweep of the castle for survivors. None of them could stomach the idea of anyone else dying just because they were too <em>tired.</em></p><p>Ginny rounded the corner to the Charms corridor and almost stopped dead in her tracks. This was a particularly hard-hit portion of the castle, apparently; and it was difficult to see her home-away-from-home in such shambles. There were large piles of rubble, gaping holes in the wall, glass scattered everywhere, and a haze of smoke in the air that made her cough.</p><p>She pulled her shirt collar over her nose and only hesitated for a second before taking her first step down the ruined corridor.</p><p>The moonlight filtered through the few still-intact windows, and, mixed with the lingering smoke, it sent an eerie feeling through her gut. It had taken nearly all the time between the end of the Battle and now for her body to stop shaking—even leaning on her mother’s shoulder had barely helped her nerves—and this feeling in her gut was probably just more leftover jitters.</p><p><em>Or</em> there was a Death Eater lurking behind a pile of fallen rocks, just waiting to jump out and <em>Avada</em> her.</p><p>There was a small tumble of rocks from the rubble pile by her shoulder—so loud in the silence that it was like an avalanche—and she jumped.</p><p><em>Foolish. It was foolish to think of such things after the night she’d had,</em> she thought.</p><p>Ginny swallowed thickly and forced a chuckle at her own expense—forced herself to keep walking, albeit a little slower and more carefully through the minefield of debris.</p><p>But then there was a different sound, a creak of something wooden behind her, and she whirled around with her wand raised.</p><p>There was nothing there.</p><p>
  <em>Okay, okay, okay.</em>
</p><p>Ginny twisted her wrist, loosening her joint in case she needed to fire off some spells. She continued her trek through the corridor, walking with more purpose than she had been previously and schooling her features into the determined scowl she’d sported for the duration of the Battle.</p><p>The light above her flickered out and plunged everything behind her into darkness.</p><p>Ginny sucked in her startled breath as quietly as she could, refusing to make a sound and alert anyone to her presence.</p><p>She continued walking, keeping only to the illuminated areas of the corridor. Tomorrow—tomorrow when the sun was shining and there were people around her—she was sure she’d laugh at herself for how fast her heart was beating and how loud her ears were ringing.</p><p>But ‘right now’ wasn’t ‘tomorrow’, and she couldn’t focus on anything else.</p><p>She took a couple more deliberate steps before she saw it.</p><p>A shadow.</p><p>Someone was behind the rubble pile a ways down the corridor.</p><p>The shadow—the <em>person</em>—was moving towards her.</p><p>
  <em>Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.</em>
</p><p>She took another step, careful to avoid the rocks in her path so she was perfectly silent.</p><p><em>They might not know you’re here,</em> she reasoned. <em>Don’t make it</em> obvious <em>that you’re here. Stay calm.</em>
</p><p>Six meters down the corridor, there was a distinct shuffle of feet.</p><p>Ginny moved quickly to her right, into an alcove that used to house a suit of armour. She pressed her back to the wall and risked the noise of taking a steadying breath.</p><p>The footsteps came closer.</p><p>Ginny cracked her neck, spun her wand a few times in her hand, and steadied her trembling knees. She fell back into that fighting calm that she <em>hated.</em> She fell back onto those instincts that had kept her alive <em>long</em> before last night.</p><p>The footsteps came closer.</p><p>Ginny began counting in her head— <em>They’ll be right in front of the alcove in three… two… one…</em></p><p><em>“Stupefy!”</em> Ginny yelled, stepping into the open and pointing her wand. The spell flew right over the person’s shoulder, and it sent a scatter of bricks and a shower of blue sparks through the air.</p><p><em>“Merlin,</em> Gin!” the person exclaimed, their wand already aimed in Ginny’s direction <em>and</em> already lowering back to the person’s side. It was only the familiar tenor of the other person’s voice that stopped Ginny from firing the second stunner on the tip of her tongue.</p><p>“Oh my God, <em>Harry!</em> I’m so sorry!” Ginny exclaimed, her hands flying to cover her mouth and her wand clattering to the ground as if it’d burned her. Harry stepped towards her, the Marauder’s Map sticking out of his front pocket, and placed a soothing hand on her arm.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating, her voice cracking. <em>I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.</em></p><p>“Shh, it’s okay, Ginny. I promise,” Harry soothed as he pulled her into his chest. He kept a hand on the back of her head, holding her close, while his other hand was wrapped like a vice around her waist. She kept her face pressed into the juncture of his neck and let him calm her—let him rub his warm hand down the center of her back.</p><p>“Take some deep breaths, Gin. You missed. Besides, it was just a stunning spell—I’ve been through worse.” He chuckled, and though there wasn’t a single thing about this that was funny, Ginny laughed too.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading! i had a lot of fun writing this—especially in trying to keep the word count down. let me know what you all thought :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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